Defendant

Victim's dad defends defendant By JULIE E. GREENE / julieg@herald-mail.com A Hagerstown man convicted of having sexual contact with a teenage girl had an unlikely defender in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday - the victim's father. The father asked Circuit Judge Donald Beachley for a lenient sentence. His wife, however, was vehement in asking for a harsher sentence. The man was living in the couple's home when the incident occurred. Beachley said it was the only time since he has been on the bench he had encountered such a difference of opinion between parents.

pepperb@herald-mail.com The decision of a Maryland jury to sentence a defendant convicted of first-degree murder to death must be weighed on the law - whether the offense meets the seriousness qualifications and whether the defendant is a serious threat to society. First-degree murder is defined as a deliberate, premeditated and willful killing; committed by lying in wait; committed by poison; or committed in the perpetration of or an attempt to perpetrate first-degree arson, first-, second- or third-degree burglary, carjacking or armed carjacking, kidnapping, mayhem, rape, robbery, first- or second-degree sex offense or sodomy, according to the Annotated Code of Maryland, Criminal Law Article, section 2-201.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Berkeley County man was jailed Thursday on three felony counts of sexual abuse by a parent or guardian and a charge of failing to register as a convicted child abuser less than a month after being sentenced in another case involving a child, according to court records. The man's name is not being released because of his relationship with the victim, a 4-year-old girl. The defendant remained in jail Thursday night on a $160,000 cash-only bond set by Magistrate JoAnn Overington, according to court records.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer A 30-year-old Sabillasville man, himself the victim of incest at a young age, was sentenced Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court to five years in prison for sexually abusing his girlfriend's son. "I know what it feels like to have such things done to you as a child," the man told Judge John H. McDowell. "You think everyone can tell just by looking at you. " He pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court April 8 to committing a third-degree sexual offense on the boy over a period from June 1994 to September 1996.

A Waynesboro, Pa., man was being held in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night on a $100,000 cash-only bond after being arraigned on heroin distribution charges, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court and jail records. Rahaneen Omar Gordon, 34, of 823 W. Main St. was arraigned on two counts of distribution of heroin by Magistrate Harry L. Snow, according to court records. Gordon is accused of distributing 125 grams of heroin to a confidential informant in two separate meetings, the court records said.

Delinquent teen returned from Noyes By MARLO BARNHART marlob@herald-mail.com A 12-year-old Hagerstown boy found delinquent last month for the second-degree assault of a Western Heights classmate has been returned to his grandmother's home Wednesday after a month at a Rockville, Md., detention center. "I learned a lot at Noyes," the boy told Washington County Circuit Judge Donald Beachley. "I just want one more chance to go home. " No longer able to attend Western Heights Middle School, the seventh-grader will be assigned a new school by school officials.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. --Â A man was arrested Friday at the Berkeley County Judicial Center after police found him with a poorly clothed child and in possession of a small amount of heroin and suboxone, a drug used for opioid addiction, according to court records. Arthur Lee Hairston Jr., 30, of 246 McGuire Lane in Gerrardstown, W.Va., was arraigned by Magistrate W. Randy Smith on misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and disorderly conduct, according to court records.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Hedgesville, W.Va., man who allegedly told police in January that he broke into "somewhere around 500 vehicles" within the last year was arraigned Thursday on multiple misdemeanor charges, according to court records. Joseph Wayne Kyne, 23, of 1439 Providence Church Road, was released on an $18,500 personal recognizance bond set by Magistrate Joan V. Bragg after she arraigned him on six counts of petit larceny and counts of attempted petit larceny and destruction of property, according to court records.

A 35-year-old man is accused of attacking a sleeping man early Monday after the victim's residence was broken into through a basement window, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Daniel Barry Shipley was arraigned Monday by Magistrate Sandra L. Miller on charges of burglary, battery, carrying a deadly weapon and obstructing an officer, according to court documents. Shipley had no fixed address, according to court documents. Martinsburg Police Department Patrol Officer E.C. Neely responded to a reported fight in progress in the 100 block of Gussie Avenue in Martinsburg at 2:12 a.m. and found that the victim's face was bloodied, according to court documents.

West Virginia State Police said a man who indicated he was homeless and held a sign claiming to be a veteran while panhandling for money multiple times was found to reside at a Martinsburg apartment building, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Charles Ashby Atkins, 78, of South Raleigh Street was arraigned Friday night by Magistrate Robert L. Lowe II on single misdemeanor counts of fraudulent schemes, obstructing, pedestrian on the interstate and failure to obey a traffic-control device, the court records said.

Antietam Bible College, Biblical Seminary and Graduate School is offering a tuition-free online course in apologetics for the fall semester. The introductory offering is tuition-free, plus a $30 registration fee and textbook cost. The course is about defending the Christian faith. To register, call 301-797-0988 or send an email to Admin@AntietamBibleCollege.org.

A reported road-rage incident early Friday morning led to the arrest of a Hedgesville, W.Va., man whose vehicle crashed into the Hedgesville Elementary School playground, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Kenneth P. Yeakley Jr., 46, of Turquoise Drive was later arraigned on single counts of driving under the influence with injury, reckless driving and destruction of property, court records said. Trooper M.C. Morgan of the West Virginia State Police said in a complaint filed against Yeakley that the defendant's vehicle, a Ford F-150 truck, was found resting against a wrecked swing set in the school's playground after he responded to investigate the incident about 4:30 a.m. A guardrail and a fire hydrant were broken, and a fence was also damaged, Morgan said in the complaint.

DNA test results link Roy L. Wisotzkey to the May 2011 homicide of Vickie Clem, jurors were told Thursday at the Hagerstown man's trial in Berkeley County Circuit Court. Wisotzkey, 35, and Clem's son, Joshua Stitley, 34, of Hancock were indicted in October 2011 on a host of charges in connection with Clem's death, and the stabbing and beating of her husband, Jack Clem, at their home in the Potomac Heights subdivision of Falling Waters, W.Va. The counts against the men include murder, felony murder, attempted murder, malicious assault, burglary, conspiracy, two counts of assault during the commission of a felony and two counts of first-degree robbery, according to the indictments.

Halfway pitcher Emily Talbert turned Perryville into one-hit wonders on Thursday night. It wasn't enough to force one more game in the Maryland State Junior Softball Tournament. Perryville defended its state title by using small ball and taking advantage of Halfway miscues - including one in the eighth inning - for a 2-1 victory over Halfway in the championship round at Sharpsburg Little League. “It's never fun to lose, but I couldn't be more proud of these girls,” Halfway manager Mike Renn said.

A Waynesboro, Pa., man was being held in Eastern Regional Jail Thursday night on a $100,000 cash-only bond after being arraigned on heroin distribution charges, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court and jail records. Rahaneen Omar Gordon, 34, of 823 W. Main St. was arraigned on two counts of distribution of heroin by Magistrate Harry L. Snow, according to court records. Gordon is accused of distributing 125 grams of heroin to a confidential informant in two separate meetings, the court records said.

A 25-year-old man is accused of soliciting an 11-year-old Eastern Panhandle girl for sex, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Wade Eugene Decker of 1819 Berkeley Station Road, Martinsburg, was arraigned Tuesday by Magistrate Harry L. Snow on single felony counts of solicitation of a minor using a computer, attempted use of a minor to produce obscene matter, use of obscene matter to seduce a minor and display of obscene matter to...

The West Virginia State Police seized property estimated to be worth about $200,000 Thursday from a former state Division of Highways worker accused of stealing from the agency, according to court records. William Robert Smallwood, 55, of 135 Myers Bridge Road, Martinsburg, was arraigned Friday morning by Berkeley County Magistrate JoAnn Overington on one felony count of obtaining property by false pretenses. Smallwood, who worked as a storekeeper for the highway division's District 5 operations in Berkeley County, is no longer employed with the agency, West Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Walker said Friday.

When you see Hammerhead, Ox, Hardcore and the rest of the Defenders rumbling through your town, just remember this: They aren't looking to make trouble. Because most of them are police officers and first responders, their day jobs usually involve putting an end to trouble. Seven members and an associate of the Defenders Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club's 56th and newest chapter, the Mason-Dixon Chapter, donned their colors and mounted their Harleys on Saturday for a ride through the county.

The trial for two men charged in the May 2011 death of the mother of one of the men was postponed again Thursday to allow more time for evidence to be reviewed in the case. The trial for Joshua L. Stitley, 34, of Hancock, and Roy L. Wisotzkey, 35, of Hagerstown, was rescheduled for July 30 by presiding 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes. Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely told Wilkes on Thursday that she did not object to the defense motion.